In trouble, what do I do?

[Hammondhugh]

I, after my family member fell really ill sped to the hospital. I did 30 mph over the limit so 80 in a 50. I could’ve taken the points and called it or taken a ban. I’m asking for a reduced ban in court.
I now need to explain this to my employer and I work in education. I really really don’t want to have to explain this. I’m so embarrassed. What do I do? It’s actually very embarrassing to explain and I work with very intimidating management

I think my post is unclear. That’s pretty much why I haven’t replied. I don’t want to tell my employer. I sped behind an ambulance with my family member in went straight past a camera. I’m now obviously upset I’m in this situation. And I have to explain to my employer that I need a day off for court. But I really don’t want to tell them.

But why didn't you take the points instead?

Your post is unclear

My dad was doing 40 in a 30 at midnight as my nan, his mother in law was dying. My mum, her daughter, had recently died too, so my dad was like a son to her.
He was wrong to speed, rules are rules.
My dad did explain circumstances but was told no excuse to speed. His first 3 points in 60 yrs of driving.

Good grief.

Unless you're in a regulated profession or you need your licence to do your job, I'm not sure why you'd need to declare a temporary driving ban to your employer.

Take a days holiday for the court date. You don't need to explain why. If you do, tell them it's for something else.

Pay for taxis to and from work for while you're banned.

Mountain out of molehill, OP.

Okay so on clarification I don’t think I could have taken points. It would be not attending court and letting it be decided how long the ban is or if I take points. I wouldn’t be able to even discuss the negotiation at all. It would just be decided by the courts. Sorry I think I got myself confused.

Yah I know I am. But obviously I work in a profession where leave is rarely granted. In education you declare any and every absence and it’s really only given in special cases.

@Flickersy I'm guessing as op works in education taking a day off to attend court in termtime is problematic. Op, you don't need to give full details of your offence yet.

If you have a ban it looks like it could end up on your DBS which you presumably need if you are working in education. You need to be honest with your employer.

"Driving offences will only be shown on a DBS certificate if they cross the border from civil motoring offence into a criminal offence which is dealt with through the court. There is a very wide range of offences which fall into this category, and include things like drink driving, driving without insurance or excessive speeding which results in you losing your licence. This is a complicated area of the law, and there is a lot of misunderstanding and confusion about what category a driving offence falls into. There is a lot of information online, and the general advice is that it is best to be open and honest with any prospective employer. They will have come across people with points for speeding, drink driving or parking offences before, and will treat any information you give them in confidence."

If they do a DBS check they will most likely find it. Tell the truth and apologise unreservedly.

I spoke to my solicitor and they said it does not appear on any enhanced dbs check.

I don't think even an Ambulance would go 80mph in a 50 zone 🤔

I think you should be honest and explain. You weren’t just randomly speeding you were panicking behind the ambulance. I’m not saying that makes it ok but it makes it more understandable. I think your day will be granted unpaid though

The fact you're feeling this way about telling your employer (not sure why you need to) makes me wonder if there is more to this story. If you were truly speeding due to an emergency most people would be understanding even though it doesn't justify 80 in a 50 zone. Was the person bleeding and at risk of passing within minutes?

Edit: I see you were speeding after an ambulance, that's very wrong and unnecessary. If it is required for you to tell them then do it, what if you make up another story and they end up finding out the truth?

You won't face any disciplinary procedure. You haven't committed a criminal offence. Your Head may think you have done something reckless but it's none of his/her business. If you need a LOA just submit the form.

Don't lie- even by omission. It could be reported in local papers- happened to a friend of ours who had been honest with his Head.

You don't have to tell them about going to court. Just call in sick.

I'll be honest, your posts/responses are very odd. I don't see what the issue is with your boss.

God, the unnecessary drama

Just own what you did!

In the circumstances I think it is likely the court would be lenient. Speeding following an ambulance with an ill family member to hospital during an emergency is not the same as speeding just for the sake of it. Going to court to plead your case is the best scenario.

With regard to telling your management just explain it precisely as you have here. Start off by saying about the medical emergency and that you were following the ambulance and keeping up with it as you were scared and desperate to know if your relative was going to be ok. Then tell them that unbeknownst to you a camera was triggered and you have been summonsed to court for speeding and that your solicitor has advised that appearing in person and explaining the circumstances is the best course of action and that unfortunately this means you will need to take the day of court off work. If you are anxious about making this approach alone consult your union for assistance.

I've just converted to kilometres (130 in an 80 zone) and where I live it would be instant loss of licence plus points as you were 50km/hr over the signed speed.

I'm also not understanding your conundrum.

Option 1 take 6 points, I assume no court, points come back after a certain time, no loss of licence.

Option 2 attend court and request reduced ban. Is the issue the time off to go to court or the loss of licence?

Personally I wouldn't risk a ban, I'd take the points. I can't see any mitigation that would justify the speed, particularly as family member was in an ambulance and receiving medical attention.

I would imagine most people would understand how you can get into a position of speeding behind an ambulance with a sick family member in. I'm sure a lot of people on here would do that.

You'll just have to be honest.. and you should be embarrassed
I don't think ever known an ambulance do 80mph If speed is of the essence it would usually trigger the air ambulance and you had no need to follow it

What?

Just fess up OP, you don’t need to go into detail but just say you were speeding on way to hospital. I wouldn’t be judgy if I were your boss.

I work in healthcare. One of my hats is making judgement calls on whether we keep or fire employees who get criminal convictions or cautions.

Obviously, some issues are unredeemable and they're going regardless. But, mostly, the key factors I consider are did the person tell us early, and were they honest?

I would not be hugely worried about someone getting a driving ban in the circumstances you describe, if they had admitted it honestly to us. If they had lied about it or tried to cover it up then that would go to their honesty and integrity and it is likely they would be let go.

The least damaging option is for you to be absolutely frank with your employer about what happened, why, and how you feel about it now.